Hola a todos,

My boyfriend and I just moved to Madrid 3 months ago from Edinburgh...while we absolutely love it here, we are starting to suffer from the august heat and are longing to get away for our weekends. Does anyone have any good suggestions for taking short weekend trips? We were thinking about going to Tarragona for the upcoming puente. Has anyone been?

Un Salud!

Hello madrileña. Welcome back! We haven't seen you here for a long time. Glad to hear you're in the place where many of us would like to be - EVEN WITH the exhausting heat.

To beat the heat, I might suggest you read through the Beating the heat or fun ways to enjoy HOT Madrid in Aug threads in this forum.

You might also consider going hiking in the nearby Sierra de Guadarrama mountains. Read the Hiking close to Madrid thread about this, also in this forum. I have never done this myself, but would imagine it would be cooler at the higher altitudes...although the sun more brutal too.

Saludos, MadridMan

Check the Iberia air specials and see if you can hop a plane to Santander, La Coruna, Santiago, Bilbao, etc. Anywhere in the north is cool. In fact, last summer in Santander there were about 5 beach days per MONTH! that's it. I'd head for Vigo and Rias Baixas, too (about a 5 hr train ride to Vigo i bet). Or just hit the sierra around Madrid. rgf

¡Hola, Madrileña!

If you go to Tarragona, or anywhere near a coast, you need to stay at the beach if you want to be cooler. Remember that as soon as you go inland it gets hot again!

I highly recommend the pueblo Jaca, which is in the foothills of the Pyrenees. There's a train from Chamartin every day, or you can drive. (It's about 5-6 hours drive, depending on how often you stop. The roads are excellent. The train takes longer.) As has been mentioned earlier, the north is cooler, and it's wonderful in the mountains. I can go on and on about Jaca for hours. If you want to know more, please let me know here. But here's a little: gorgeous scenery, beautiful parks and paseos, the BEST tapas and pastries in Spain, excellent restaurants and nightlife (for a pueblo), history and ancient buildings to explore, great day trips from there if you have a car, ice skating year round, two beautiful municipal pools...

And nearer to Madrid... Have you been to Aquopolis, to the west of the city in Villanueva de la Cañada? It's a water park Madrileños like to escape to. There's a direct bus from the city. Antonio has information about it at http://www.chelo.com/summer.html.en

Let us know what you do!

[This message has been edited by Diana (edited 08-10-2000).]

Andorra is beautiful in the summer months, as well as for skiing in the winter. Jaca is a great choice, it's like a little hamlet! When I was a little girl, we went one time and my little sister threw up all the way home! Wow, was that fun or what?
Sorry, just had to share!


[This message has been edited by Rubia66 (edited 08-11-2000).]

¡Que bueno! What great responses - thank you all!

We talked about our plans last night and decided that we'd visit Vigo for the puente - it seems less touristy for some reason and much cooler than Madrid...

So, my next question is, has anyone been to Vigo and surroundings? Any recommendations for this area?

Gracias for all of the other suggestions - we will use them for future weekends and trips!

Vigo is Great! But it's not 5-hours by train from Madrid. A Talgo leaves Chamartin at 13:15 and arrives Vigo 21:30. But you can fly Spanair or Iberia.
You can get to Playa Samil by bus from the city centre or catch a boat to Cangas or Moanha (on the north side of ria de Vigo) or to Islas Cies during the summer months.
Pontevedra is a big tourist destination (mostly Spanish). You'll love it!

Gotta be a bus to Vigo that takes about 5+ hours because you can get all the way to la corunya in 6 and a half.... Vigo and surroundings are great! Just be prepared on lodging, tho. Most places will be full. You might have to stay in some remote place...